Western Brook Pond, Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
The Western Brook Pond is a Canadian fjord or lake located in Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. It is in the Long Range Mountains, the most northern section of the Appalachian Mountains.
The pond is surrounded by steep rock walls 2,000 ft high, having been carved from the surrounding plateau by glaciers during the Pleistocene. After the glaciers melted, the land rebounded and the fjord was cut off from the sea. Salty water was eventually flushed from the fjord leaving it fresh. The catchment area is composed of igneous rock with relatively thin soil, so the waters feeding Western Brook Pond are low in nutrients and the lake is classified as ultraoligotrophic. It is fed by Stag Brook at the extreme eastern end of the lake and by numerous waterfalls cascading from the plateau above. One of these, Pissing Mare Falls at 1,150 ft, is one of the highest in eastern North America.
The boat in the bottom left of the picture looks small but holds 50 people.
The hike up the east end of the lake takes 10 to 12 hours round trip and traverses 4 km of boulders. Injuries are common.
The plateau above the pond (aka Big Level Plateau) has endemic species including black bear, arctic hare and woodland caribou. Arctic hare survive in conditions that are too harsh for snowshow hare!
